The International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research (IJEBR) is ISBE’s official partner. The journal has a unique focus on publishing original research related to the human and social dynamics of entrepreneurship, and entrepreneurial management in the small business sector. The journal has an international perspective on entrepreneurship and publishes conceptual and empirical studies which bring together issues of interest to academic researchers and educators, policy-makers and practitioners. The editorial team encourages high-quality submissions which advance the study of human and behavioural dimensions of entrepreneurship and the small business community.
This article provides an overview of the journal performance in 2019 and notes some of the developments we are implementing. First, and most importantly, my sincere thanks to the IJEBR Editorial team namely the Desk Review Editor Dr Dung Pham, the co-editors Prof Martina Battisti, Dr Elisabeth Berger, Dr. Mohamed Yacine Haddoud, Prof Giustina Secundo Prof Lois Shelton, Dr Richard Tunstall and Prof Natalia Vershinina. In 2019, we welcomed Natalia and Guistina to the Editorial team on the basis of their excellent academic expertise and successful prior involvement with IJEBR special issues. The Editorial team continues to evolve and we recently welcomed Dr Jonathan Scott from the University of Waikato, NZ to the team.
The journal will continue to seek to expand the Editorial team as the journal grows in terms of published outputs and submissions. The nationalities of the Editorial team (Algerian, Austrian, German, Italian, Russian, Vietnamese, United States, and United Kingdom) are a reflection on the global expansion of the Entrepreneurship discipline and the desire for IJEBR to appeal to a truly international audience. During this year, we also said goodbye to Patti Davis the Emerald Publisher and Aisha Mayet the Content Editor who both moved onto pastures new. Many thanks to both for all their considerable efforts and hard work in supporting the journal.
Overall, 2019 will be recognised as a significant year of achievement for the journal. In 2017, we were invited to join the Clarivate Analytics Journal Citation index. In July of 2018, we received our first full impact factor of 1.86. In July 2019, this increased to 2.391, which is a commendable growth. This also reflects well against our peer journal group and we will seek to further grow the impact factor in coming years. IJEBR is looking to develop its standing in journal league tables from a global perspective. Entrepreneurship remains under represented as a sub-discipline both in terms of the number of journals and high-ranking journals available in comparison with other business disciplines. Thus, we are seeking to standing to build our impact factor as a real measure of the reputation, quality and global impact of the journal on its academic community.
Our submission levels continue to increase. In 2019, we received over 800 submissions. Similarly, our article downloads and citations continue to increase, as does our overall manuscript rejection rate. These are key metrics in the evaluation of performance of IJEBR as an international journal of standing in the Entrepreneurship discipline. The journal prides itself on its efficiency and speed of response. We are also conscientious of supporting the needs of the community we serve in providing content which will push the boundaries of knowledge. In 2019, we published eight issues and 89 manuscripts over the course of the academic year. It is of course essential that we maintain the quality of articles that we publish. Our increased submission and rejection levels due to achieving a full impact factor will allow us to maintain and increase our quality threshold. In 2020, we are looking to publish over 80 manuscripts in eight issues, which confirms our desire to maintain our rapid growth on previous years.
IJEBR always seeks to publish content which enhances the knowledge of the Entrepreneurship discipline. In particular, special issues are an opportunity to explore some of the emerging themes and debates within the rapidly evolving Entrepreneurship discipline. Previously, members of the ISBE community have provided many excellent special issues in recent years. Indeed, in 2019 we published special issues exploring “Migration, Enterprise and Society”, “Artisan, cultural and tourism entrepreneurship” and “Intersectionality and Entrepreneurship”. My thanks to all the guest editors, authors and reviewers involved. I see special issues as a key element of IJEBRs contribution to enhancing the current debate and thinking in the discipline. Please contact me if you wish to take a special issue proposal forward. Please note the current calls for papers that we are currently promoting.
- Entrepreneurial development and digital transformation in creative and cultural industries: trends, opportunities and challenges
- From Family Entrepreneurship to Family Entrepreneuring
- Artificial Intelligence as an Enabler for Entrepreneurs
- Small Business Growth and Productivity
- Students creating Ventures in Higher Education: Nascent Entrepreneurs and Entrepreneurship Students
- New technologies and entrepreneurship: exploring entrepreneurial behavior in the digital transformation era
- New Family Business Models: Between the Business and the Family
IJEBR is delighted to continue its long UK association with the Institute of Small Business and Entrepreneurship. I would urge ISBE members to embrace the journal and consider it as an avenue for their future research. In addition, please join the IJEBR network by offering to become a reviewer. This can be achieved by creating a user account on the IJEBR website and registering your research interests. As always, my thanks to everyone who has contributed to the IJEBR community including authors, guest editors, reviewers and readers.
Professor Paul Jones
Editor in Chief International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior and Research
